Bitcoin’s Value Could Go To Zero – Venture Capitalist Jason Calacanis

Prominent Silicon Valley investor Jason Calacanis said there is a 33 percent chance that bitcoin’s value may drop to zero.

In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Alley, Calacanis said bitcoin has lost half of its value in 20 days. It is possible that another technology comes along and replaces it.

“Cryptocurrency is a real technology,” Calacanis said. “It’s fascinating. It’s got the potential to do some amazing things. But we’re talking about an unregulated, highly manipulated and anonymous global stock market.”

According to Calacanis, much of the initial run that sent prices skyrocketing was manufactured through duplicate bitcoin wallets, giving the appearance more investors had bet on bitcoin. He added that once casual investors realize they’ve been buying into “what is essentially a huge fraud,” the cryptocurrency will tank.

“Now that doesn’t mean that people can’t have fun,” he said. “But what’s happening right now is extremely dangerous.”

In an opposing opinion, Balaji Srinivasan, an Andreessen Horowitz Board Member, said bitcoin was more like digital gold but definitely not a good transactional vehicle. He explained that over the long term, he expects the cryptocurreny to rise in value but decline in market share as other cryptocurrencies continue to move into the space.

“There are other kinds of coins that are coming out that are filling other roles in the ecosystem,” Srinivasan said on CNBC’s Squawk Alley. “Probably for the foreseeable future, bitcoin is just a pure digital gold. For transactions, something like Bitcoin Cash, or something like the new Lightning Network that’s built on top of bitcoin, could be interesting.”

Relative to other investments, such as gold, Srinivasan said, bitcoin is “potentially, the best store value out there.”